The Brew are recognised as being New Zealand's first
'Underground' band. They were started in 1967 by Bob Gillett, who had decided to
form a band capable of playing a new kind of music, unlike anything that was
currently being played. Bob had originally come from Santa
Anna, California and arrived in New Zealand around 1960. After playing many jazz
gigs he decided to form his own band.

Bob recruited Doug Jerebine, who was keen to experiment
with new sounds and equipment. Doug was a guitar wizard and had previously
played with the Embers. Andy Shackleton of the Premiers was
originally recruited to play drums, but never made it past rehearsals, before
being replaced by Charles Gray and Puni came in on bass, having arrived in
Auckland as a member of the Invaders. Tommy
Ferguson wanted to be part of the experiment as the vocalist. There were no
rules, they just wanted to create a sound that was not
rock, pop, blues or jazz.

They were approached by the Tea Council to record a jingle to
promote Tea to the teens. The council had been trying for months to succeed with
their promotions, but had been unsuccessful. This association was where their
name was derived from - the Brew. Rather than write a jingle they
recorded the old standard "Tea For Two". At the same time they
recorded "Bengal Tiger". This single, in 1967, was the only release for the
group.

On the strength of this single they secured the residency job
at the new Picasso nightclub. Gray left and was
replaced by Graeme Willoughby, who had begun his career as a member of the Truetones.
The Truetones also having Eddie Low and Teddy Toi as members. Solomon also left and was replaced by
John 'Yuk'
Harrison on bass. With Gillette's influence, Jerebine started playing Sitar in
the band.

About halfway through the band's life,
John 'Yuk' Harrison left, to
be replaced by Harvey Mann. Harvey was dissatisfied with the direction that the Underdogs
were going and he wanted to be with the group he thought was the ultimate band
at the time. Other musicians to pass through
the group were drummers Jon Drinkwater, Ian Thompson from the Dark
Ages and the Underdogs, as well as Bruno Lawrence.

After Tommy Ferguson left the Brew, the
reformed line-up consisted of Bob Gillett on drums and percussion, Doug Jerebine on bass guitar, Harvey Mann on lead guitar (with a regular body and a
bass neck), and Archie Bowie, from the Magee St line-up of the Underdogs, on vocals and harp. Archie stayed for
about nine months and was replaced by another singer, Murray Grindley, also from the Underdogs.

Tommy Ferguson had previously been with the Astrobeats
in 1965. They released a single called "Jenka Rock". He went solo
after the Brew and released two singles during 1968 and 1969, "9
Miles From Nowhere"/"Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing" and
"Something Bad On My Mind"/"Shoot 'Em Up Baby".

Bob Gillett later
formed a band
called Breeze in 1971, which included Sonny
Day, Dave Shepherd, Steve Wilson and
Brett Neilsen. He later ended up in Space Farm.

Graeme Willoughby joined
the Dave Shepherd Group for a short
while in 1969 and then kept playing in New Zealand
and Australia, but sadly died in 1974. His music lives on through his daughter
Kim, who was a member of the 80's group, When The Cat's Away.

Doug Jerebine went on to record under the
name Jessie Harper, before quitting the rock scene to become a Krishna
monk.